Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 2 Preview: The Storm Rages Onward…


 

Well, THAT premiere was… very… educational now, wasn’t it? It looks like the new season won’t disappoint at all, so it’ll be fun to see where it all goes from here. Uphill for some of the characters and downhill in terms of some of their fates, I’m supposing. Of course, that’s while we all watch the show, right? I thought so. Anyway, I think I need a shower now. All that tension is bad for the sweat glands and bladder (especially when the show starts up and you’ve forgotten to go. No commercials during programs on HBO, you know). See you next week, same Dragon time, same Dragon channel…

The Last of Us TV Spot #1: Still Among the Living… Mostly

 
TLOS_standard coverFinally, Sony drops the first of what’s probably going to be a few TV ads for Naughty Dog’s upcoming (and possibly final) PlayStation 3 game, and it’s a nice and tense doozy. Those aren’t your garden variety zombies popping up throughout that ad, by the way… you’ll see. Anyway, the game looks great and if the multi-million selling Uncharted series is any indication, this game will do quite well at retail and with the critics.

Of course, it’s going to be hard to show too much of the game so nothing from the plot gets overly spoiled, but I think a lot of folks going in expecting one thing will be surprised when they get something else. Me, I’m looking forward to this for a ton of good reasons, so I’ll be there with bells on come launch day.

Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere Accolades: OK, HBO… We Get It, We Get It!


 

Now you’re just f*@King with us with an hour plus to go. Some are hanging out in bars for a while now, others are ditching their Easter hats in favor of some handmade get-ups straight out of the show and people like me are still flipping a flippin’ coin and trying to decide on The Walking Dead season finale or this first because we don’t have a DVR. I’m leaning heavily towards GoT, by the way, but I may change my mind just because I think I can. Eh, I’ll probably go with Game, as I’ve been pretty zombified all week and all these teasers and trailers for Thrones has me too piqued to pass up. Off to plant my butt in front of the TV a bit early. It’s going to be quite a night for beginnings and endings on a few fronts…

How’s Your Japanese? EDF 4 Message Incoming From D3Publisher! EDF指令本部より緊急通信!


 

Earth-Defense-Force-2025_2013_03-28-13_005OK, I’m only running this here because I’m trapped (TRAPPED, I say!) at home on a sloooooow as molasses Internet connection and can’t upload all those lovely new EDF 2025/EDF 4 screens that Gematsu and another site have been posting over the last few days. Here’s ONE to ogle on the left (all four character classes in a classic hero pose) and I’ll get more up tomorrow with a link to the well over 100 other new screens I’ve been drooling over. The game is looking even better, one of the DLC bonuses (in Japan, at least) is truly bizarre and funny (hopefully we’ll see it here with no explanation, as it’s too goofy to even get into WHY it’s a bonus other than to say it’s an otaku thing). Anyway, if you can figure out that video, good for you. You now know more than a few people who read this site about the upcoming game. Of course, if it’s an April Fool’s joke, that would be even funnier, right?

Random Film of the Week(end), Too: Battle Beyond The Stars

BBTS_posterAfter Star Wars was released and hit it huge at the box office, nearly every sci-fi film made afterward during the next decade plus was immediately (and unfortunately) compared to it. This bit of mental short-handing by critics, fans and other detractors with short attention spans may have been correct about most of these films’ characters, visual effects and overall designs being influenced by the art direction and effects found in George Lucas’ movie, but in terms of story, well… that’s where some needed their heads handed to them. That easily digestible tale of mystic good versus mystic evil in an epic fantasy/space opera lite setting was cut from the cloth of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials, assorted WWII movies (The Dam Busters, 633 Squadron and others) and most importantly, a great “little” film by Akira Kurosawa called Hidden Fortress (which SHOULD be a RFoTW, but I haven’t gotten around to seeing it again).

In fact, Kurosawa’s films have formed the basis of a few important American and international film hits, and if you poke around enough, you’ll see (and be surprised) that some of your own favorites started life as Kurosawa projects. Probably his best known film (at least here in the US), Seven Samurai was reworked into a few films over the years as The Magnificent Seven and this particularly cool 1980 sci-fi sleeper produced by Roger Corman and directed by Jimmy T. Murakami. As fun as Lucas’ flick was, as a lower budgeted quickie, Battle Beyond The Stars manages to be its equal in a few small areas and actually surpasses it in at least one surprising manner… Continue reading

Of Course This Isn’t Real, But Let’s Humor Scope For A Bit…

 

Ho-kaaayyy… for the record, if you even THINK there’s going to be a bacon-flavored mouthwash (with a hint of mint at the end, yet!), you’re nuts. Or plain crazy. Or you’ll be SO upset about this gag that you’ll be calling up some shady law firm and planning to sue Proctor & Gamble for getting your hopes up (or “false advertising”, as it’s called). Granted, if you’re so upset about NOT being able to gargle with artificial pork and salt (and mint!)-flavored alcohol soup and you have THAT kind of money to hire a law firm then perhaps YOU’RE playing the bigger and better April Fool’s gag on a big company that needs that kind of surprise in their Monday morning mail.

Yes, I am a genius. But too busy of one to get to the contacting of a non-busy real or fake lawyer to set this up. Yeah, I’m too lazy, to go to all that trouble as well – so get to it and you’re welcome in advance if your, er, MY idea works out well enough to get you on TV or in a newspaper in your area…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Random Screenshot of the Day: Survival on Sunday!

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So, you’ve survived another Saturday night in Greenvale and your trip to the Swery65 Bar ended without a fight breaking out. Good for you – lesson learned, correct? Still, you drank just enough to have a touch of a hangover, but it’s all good because you know just how and where to get that all taken care of. Shuffle on into your shoes (well, AFTER a shower, shave and some putting on of pants, please) and make like a hungry dog over to the A&G Diner. That coffee will slap you awake while the breakfast special will beat the hell out of that throbbing head stuff and send it flying out an ear or nostril. Make sure you take the normal street route to the diner, though. There may have been another murder last night and you don’t want to be sneaking around the back way as the police and that weird detective are poking around for clues. That and you DEFINITELY wouldn’t want to run into the killer plaguing the town, would you? That’s the worst way to get rid of a hangover I hear because it might rely on you losing your head (which is NOT a good thing the last time I checked)…

DPDC PS3 US EFS 2D RealOh, before you go, make sure to pre-order a copy of Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 on April 30, 2013. When you finally get back home from your extended vacation in Greenvale, you can relive the excitement and freaky thrills by playing as Detective Francis York Morgan as he investigates the case of the Red Seeds Killer. Updated visuals, all-new content, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, as well as more cool stuff awaits you and your lucky friends who won’t have to sit through that boring slideshow you originally planned to show when you got back…

swery_hamburgerOh yeah, did you know that in addition to some stellar strong coffee and awesome pie (try the apple-pineapple for a REAL treat), the A&G makes a really kick-ass hamburger? All of the ones ON the menu are outstanding, but order the small but absolutely killer Sweryburger (ask for a Number 65) and be prepared to be back for another one when it’s time to think about your dinner plans. The fries are awesome as well – freshly hand cut, thick and tossed in a seasoning mix that makes them oh so yummy.

Hmmm… now I’m hungry as hell – I’ll see you at the A&G!

Random Film of the Week(end): TARGETS

 

targets posterI remember about ten or so years back attending a dinner party where I walked into a conversation about violence in video games affecting society in a few negative ways. Asking around, I found that no one in the group had any actual current video game experience (this was before mobile and tablet gaming became the nickel and dime juggernaut it is now), so it was interesting watching the debate flop and flail around like a fresh fish that’s landed in a boat with the hook still in its mouth. I also remember shutting the conversation down entirely by asking if anyone in the vicinity was a contact spots fan and reminded them that more REAL people have been injured and died from participating (and spectating) in all sports than from playing video games, PERIOD.

That said, are there plenty of truly disturbed people in this world who use what they see or play in modern games as some sort of template? Sure there are. But throughout every era, there have been many more very unbalanced people who’ve maimed or killed using what they’ve interpreted in their own minds and sometimes from media of their own time as springboards for violence. Murder as a means of handling things incorrectly has been around before any media, so trying to argue that we’re more violent today despite proof otherwise is a rather extreme case of denial. Additionally, misinterpreting and misappropriating fiction into one’s own reality and twisted world view seems to be a common trait amongst those who think killing is a “solution” to a particular “problem” (and it’s something that predates video games by many thousands of years).

Anyway, back to fiction for a bit. Bobby Thompson (played by Tim O’Kelly) the main character in Peter Bogdanovich’s debut film, TARGETS, certainly wasn’t influenced by video games, as they weren’t commercially available until a few years after the film was shot. He seems to be a Vietnam veteran, but this doesn’t seen to play into his madness at all. In fact, the film is fascinating because it doesn’t even attempt to explain what’s happening inside Bobby’s damaged mind at all and while hard to watch at times, it’s a compelling viewing experience right from the beginning… Continue reading